Father John Misty, Pure ComedyUnder the guise of Father John Misty, Josh Tillman has been updating the singer-songwriter tradition for our post-ironic era, tapping and tweaking its melodicism and "sincerity." As many of us navigate between headline-driven panic attacks and insomniac social-media tantrums, Pure Comedy distills terabytes-worth of doomsaying Facebook rants into a 75-minute comic-existential opus that functions like a despair inoculation.Read Our Review: Father John Misty Mixes Humor, Classic Melodies on 'Pure Comedy’Hear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Various Artists, Resistance Radio: The Man in the High Castle Album Resistance Radio: The Man in the High Castle Album is sui generis; a haunting collection featuring Beck, Norah Jones, Karen O, Grandaddy, Kelis and more covering primarily ballads recorded in 1962 or before (the year the show takes place) and an early front-runner for one of the year's best albums. The temporal restriction is an advantage, with the decade's Beatles and psychedelic-rock domination not existing in this universe filled with American songbook standards like "The House of the Rising Sun," "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Can't Help Falling in Love."

Various Artists, Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon JenningsJennings was both interpreter and writer, and when he claimed a song, he owned it. But the gender flips here are illuminating: Kacey Musgraves teases the pathos from "The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)," from Waylon & Willie; Alison Krauss reprises her heavenly cover of "Dreaming My Dreams With You." Jennings' running buddies shine, among them Bobby Bare, Willie Nelson, of course, and Kris Kristofferson, whose ravaged "I Do Believe" – Jennings' masterpiece from their Highwaymen days – is a tear-jerker. That said, the set's highlight is "Freedom to Stay" by Jamey Johnson, perhaps the Waylon-est of the man's heirs.Read Our Review: Country Stars Honor Waylon Jennings on Live 'Outlaw' LPHear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Joey Bada$$Gari Askew

Joey Bada$$, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$Joey Bada$$ made his name with mixtapes like 1999 and albums like B4.Da.$$, recordings from a young
Brooklyn kid who raps with the smooth, easy-going complexity of Nineties
artists like Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest and Smif-N-Wessun. Being
vintage-minded rapper tackling modern political woes with a mellow flow makes All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ both classic and modern, equal
parts Common and Kendrick, Tupac and Vic Mensa, Arrested Development and YG. "Alton
Sterlings are happenin' every day in this country and around the world,"
he raps. "The code words to killin' a black man by police is, 'He's got a
gun'/Damned if he do, damned if he don't, damned if he runs." Christopher R. Weingarten

The New Pornographers, Whiteout ConditionsNew Pornographers leader Carl Newman has described their latest LP as "bubblegum Krautrock." Indeed, the stacked melodies and swirly keyboards of the title track and "These Are the Rules of Theatre" can suggest ELO if they'd recorded an album under the influence of Neu! Or Can. Listen deep and you'll realize you're blissing out to songs about anxiety and Trump depression. But the power-pop grandeur they make in the face of darkness makes this not just a fun time, but an inspiring one too. Jon DolanHear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Michelle Branch, Hopeless RomanticIt's been 14 years since early-'00s pop-rock hitmaker Michelle Branch, best known for her 2001 smash "Everywhere," released her last album. In 2015, Branch was at a party in Hollywood when she bumped into Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, a casual acquaintance and fellow indie-rock enthusiast. Carney suggested he produce Branch's next record. "I was very curious as to why she hadn't put out a record in a long time, and I offered, drunkenly, to help her," he says.The result isHopeless Romantic, a far cry from the Alanis Morissette–like anthems on Hotel Paper or Black Keys' garage rock, often suggesting the Bangles' Sixties romanticism or the synth-y dream pop of Beach House.Read Our Review: Inside Michelle Branch's Second ActHear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Jason Moran, Thanksgiving at the VanguardRobert Glasper and Kamasi Washington may garner more mainstream buzz, but no contemporary jazz artist is more deftly bridging the cutting-edge and the conversational than Jason Moran. His latest milestone is a no-fuss Bandcamp-only live set in which he leads his trusty trio the Bandwagon from Thelonious Monk to the outer limits of fractured funk and daredevil expressionism. The ecstatic eruptions from the crowd at New York's legendary Village Vanguard tell you everything you need to know – this is the people's avant-garde. Hank ShteamerHear: Bandcamp

Also of Note

The Chainsmokers, Memories ... Do Not OpenThe EDM-pop duo had a Number One single for 12 weeks in 2016 with "Closer." Their long-awaited debut album is already following that up by charting two Top 10 singles ("Paris" and Coldplay collaboration "Something Just Like This") and features guest appearances from Jhené Aiko and Florida Georgia Line.Hear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

PentatonixCourtesy of RCA

Pentatonix, PTX Vol IV – Classics The fourth edition of Pentatonix's cover-heavy PTX EP series features their a capella spin on a handful of huge hits from the 20th Century, including takes on "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Over the Rainbow" and a run through "Jolene" with special guest Dolly Parton.Hear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Arca, ArcaClub-noise modern artist Arca lives on contemporary music's absolute bleeding edge. His releases like Entrañas and &&&&& mutate digital sounds for completely surreal, cinematic jumbles of distention and stretching. The self-titling of his third album mirrors the fact that it includes some of his operatic vocals, introducing a human touch to his arsenal of squishes, squelches, booms, clanks and crumples. Christopher R. WeingartenHear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Clark, Death PeakA tireless beatmaker emerging from the tail end of the IDM era, Clark's eighth album for Warp Records is an experimental electronic album that's full of contemporary noise – the reverby beats that sound like of raves past, the huge CGI whomps, power-ambient drones, post-dubstep slurps – but still, quite often, it pulses like house music. Christopher R. WeingartenHear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Deep Purple, InFiniteThe dust has settled from last year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, when Deep Purple feuded with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore over who should perform. Now, the "living, breathing Deep Purple" – as frontman Ian Gillan calls the current lineup, in place since 2002 – are releasing their 20th LP. The songs are a tighter, crisper take on the bluesy, organ-imbued hard rock that was the band's calling card in the Seventies, but it sometimes feel a little stiff (notably their cover of the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues"). Despite this, the album benefits from producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd), who helped the band find a little more space sonically, as he'd done with Deep Purple's 2013 record Now What?! Steve Morse, Blackmore's replacement since 1994, proves himself once again to be a deft technician, capable of playing almost anything. Kory GrowHear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited

Cold War Kids, La DivineThis is the California crew's sixth album, and first since the smash success of 2014's Hold My Home and its Billboard Alternative Songs chart-topping single "First."Hear: Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal / Amazon Music Unlimited